Lynda and Tony Martin replaced a derelict Victorian coach house with a pretty oakframed cottage they now let out to guests

WORDS JANE CRITTENDEN

The house is clad in featheredge oak boarding, with the brick plinth and footpath made up of units reclaimed from the original building

PHOTOS OAKMASTERS

Adilapidated coach house in the grounds of Lynda and Tony Martin’s abode wasn’t a project on their agenda when the couple moved there in 1993 – nor would it be for another 20 years. “The brick coach house was built in the 1870s and sat about 120m from our home, tucked away behind trees,” says Lynda. “It was in a poor state and we had ignored it for a long time – although we imagined we would do something with the building eventually.” The Martins live in rural Sussex and bought their Victorian property with 14 acres of land – which included some old stables, outbuildings and the coach house – so they could set up a beef farm. However, the property also had to be close to Crawley for Tony’s work as a doctor. “We were very busy people back then,” says Lynda, once a nurse and now also retired like Tony, though they’re both still farming. “And, at the time, there was no real reason to progress the coach house project.”

A new outlook

The prompt for change came after the couple retired and wanted to find ways to diversify their business. “Farming isn’t easy these days,” says Lynda. “At first, we looked into planning to see if we’d be able to turn the stable barn opposite our house into a holiday home, as we thought the structure was in better condition than the coach house.” This was back in 2013 and a point in the Martins’s favour were changes to local policy the year before, supporting economic growth in rural areas. The couple were given permission for change of use into a two-bedroom holiday home the following February – but then they changed their mind. “We decided the barn was too close to our home and needed extensive underpinning, so we turned our attentions to the coach house,” says Lynda.